The Westergaard Princes
by yoponoma
Summary: A serie of short-stories about the 13 princes of the Southern Isles. The stories will be coming out in order, from the oldest to the youngest(Hans), the age of each princes will vary from story to story.
1. Alexei

**Alexei-6** / Gustav-4 / Victor-3 / Lance-0

* * *

"Don't you dare to lie to me Gustav!"

Alexei clenched his jaw, he could hear his step-mother scolding his younger brother; but he knew that _it was his own fault, he should be the one being scolded_, he stared at his baby brother, who peacefully rested in his arms

"I'm sorry Lance, I failed you-" the six-year old prince took a deep breath, mustering his courage "-It wasn't his fault!" he cried, stepping outside of his hiding place

His step-mother looked at him, anger flaring in her eyes, Gustav looked at Alexei, surprised by his declaration

"I knew it! and this little scoundrel tried to lie to me-" she turned to Gustav "-_you _told me you didn't know anything about this, is the little _rat_ involved in this too?"

"His name is Victor!-" shouted the eldest of the brothers "-and you should remember that he is your prince!" the woman fell silent, she glared at Alexei

"What did you say?"

Alexei swallowed, he looked at his four-year old brother "Gustav, you're not involved in this, leave." the woman shook her head "No no no, He is not going anywhere, he lied to me, he deserves a punishment… and you- oh... you are going to pay for every word you said!"

The woman walked up to him "Gustav didn't do anything, I told him I would beat him if he sold me out, it wasn't his fault" Alexei retorted bravely

His step-mother snorted "and the little one?" Alexei glared at her, tightening his grip around his fourth brother

"Victor is barely three… he has nothing to do with this, I took Lance away because I think he should spend time with his brothers; it was my idea, Gustav and Victor had nothing to do with any of this" the six-year old prince explained, the woman forcefully took the baby away from his arms

"Lance is not your brother-!" she turned and started walking down the hall "-Now come, I'll find a suitable punishment for you two"

The eldest prince rushed to her side "No. Gustav is not going" the woman didn't say a word

Alexei glanced at his younger brother and signalled him to run away, Gustav hesitated for a moment but finally decided to comply, their step-mother didn't protest

After a couple of minutes she glared at him spitefully "You'll also get _his_ punishment Alexei, that way you will learn to behave"


	2. Gustav

Alexei-19 / **Gustav-17 **/ Victor-16 /

* * *

"But father please!-" The second prince of Westertyde stood before his father

"I said No, Gustav, You won't abandon your birth-right for some petty dream" the king didn't bother to look at his son

"It is not a petty dream-" the seventeen years-old prince protested "-I know I can do great things if you just give me the chance"

The king glanced at him, a stern frown on his stoic face "I won't have my son work like a mere commoner" Gustav's hands were clenched in fists of pure rage

"It is our family's tradition, father… every Westergaard has-"

"Every Westergaard has the obligation to join the Navy for two years, but that does not mean they belong amongst the peasants" the king roared above the prince's voice, Gustav shrunk before his father, incapable of voicing his opinion

"It is a noble duty father, you'll need someone you can trust inside their high command"

The king sneered at his son "_Exactly-_" he answered with disdain "-we won't discuss this any further" Gustav remained in silence, powerless to defend his dreams, his father left the room without another word.

.

It was only hours later that Victor found Gustav, sitting on the docks and sadly staring at the sea

"...Gustav? You've been gone for hours, are you alright?" the prince didn't bother to look at his younger brother

"Father doesn't understand, I don't need the crown, my place has never been _on _the throne… I am no king..."

Victor shrugged "Then, what are you?"

Gustav hesitated for a moment "I- I am a brother, my place is by your side, by Alexei's side... I know that I can be useful to the twelve of you if I join the navy"

Victor smiled "I think so too... You are one of the best sailors there is" the eldest chuckled

"Well... Apparently I am not, I have no idea what father wants me to do... Alexei is the heir to the throne, why can't I do whatever I think it's best?"

Victor nudged at his brother "Well, Alexei is talking to father about your position"

Gustav's face lit up "R-really?" the youngest nodded

"He was furious with father, he is now trying to explain to him that you are the best the navy has seen in decades"

Gustav jumped to his feet "Then I have to go! I can't let Alexei fix all my troubles" he said full of energy, Victor nodded and followed his brother back to the castle.


	3. Victor

Alexei-10 / Gustav-8 / **Victor-6** / Damian-4 / Magnus-3 / Anders-1 / Emmerich-1 / William-1 /

* * *

"C'mon Victor, hurry!" cried the eldest.

"I can't go any faster, I wasn't expecting Emmerich to be this heavy" Victor tightened his grip around the baby in his arms

The six-year old prince was panicking; he couldn't catch up with his brother, and the thought of being left behind was terrifying, the young prince struggled to hold his tears.

Instead of leaving him behind, Alexei quickly rushed to his brother- Anders was peacefully sleeping in one of his arms and Magnus was gripping tightly to his free hand-

"Here, Grab Magnus. Magnus go with Victor-" he instructed, Victor mustered his strength and held Emmerich with only one arm, extending his other arm to his three-year old brother, Magnus let go of Alexei and grabbed Victor's hand "-now give Emm' to me" the eldest prince quickly took the sleeping baby from his youngest brother arms, he took a moment to accommodate the twins in his arms.

Suddenly, Gustav came running down the hall; William was sleeping in his arms and Damian clumsily followed him

"Guys, hurry! I got Damian and William, let's go-!-" he ran past his other brothers and got lost out of sight on the hallway's corner, Damian stopped when he saw his elder brothers with the babies in their arms

"What are you guys doing?" asked the young Damian

Alexei looked at him, his face beaming "We're taking you guys out to play, It was Victor's idea"

"Lance and Gérard said they didn't want to come, but everyone else is here" Victor explained

Damian smiled at Victor, he was about to say something when Gustav's head poked from the corner of the hallway

"Guys! I'm serious… Gilly noticed that the twins are missing, we have to move!"

Alexei nodded and looked at Victor "If we are caught, you guys have to run as fast as you can, got it?" Damian nodded exited, Victor only gave an approving sound while Magnus didn't seem to understand anything

"Alexei! did you take your brothers again?! I told you what would happen if you did that!" the caretaker's voice echoed down the hall

Victor was the first to react to her voice "Run!" he screamed and the little royals started running down the hallway, following the path Gustav had taken.

A smile found it's way to Alexei's face when he heard his younger siblings laughter.

Lance, Gérard and Damian's mother had passed away four days ago so Victor had organised a breakout to distract him for a moment, and as their laughter filled the halls of the castle they knew they had succeeded.


	4. Lance

Victor-18 / **Lance-17** / Anders-11

* * *

Lance rolled his eyes, annoyed by his little brother presence "What are those papers you are reading?"

The older prince sighed out of irritation "They are trade charts, not that _you_ would know anything about them"

Anders frowned "…and Why are you reading them?"

Lance didn't bother to look at him "Knowledge. Why are _you_ here? You are too dumb to understand anything you could find in here"

The young prince didn't seem to mind his brother's words "That's cause' I'm little, I'm sure that I'll get it when I'm older"

Lance laughed mockingly "You should save yourself time and stop getting up in the morning, there is nothing that can cure stupidity… not even time"

Anders remained in silence for a moment, the older of the two brothers resumed his studying

"Victor told me that I would understand this when I got older"

Lance slammed the book shut, making his younger brother jump out of surprise; he glared at Anders

"Don't speak to me of Victor, he is a coward, he's afraid of competing against Alexei and that's why he decided to settle for less than the crown… It is a disgraced to be his brother"

Anders glared at his sibling, showing irritation for the first time "You are wrong! Victor is not a disgrace, he's better than you in everything he does" the piercing words only fuelled Lance's rage

Flaring with anger he pushed his brother, making him crash against a table, Anders cried out in pain, Lance looked away with not the slightest hint of guilt "Victor is only better than me because he is older, but he's an idiot, he was too afraid of competing against us and decided to take the easy way out and join the clergy"

Anders rubbed his leg in pain, sourly looking at his brother "He chose to do what he liked the most, unlike you... you will never excel in anything unless you like it. And that's something even I can understand. You don't know what you want, You just know what you are supposed to want! The real coward is you!" he cried out, furious at Lance for insulting their older brother.

Lance stood from his chair, prepared to beat his younger brother to pulp "Get out of here!" he ordered full of rage

Anders shivered in fear before he ran out of the room as fast as he could, leaving Lance alone. But Lance was used to being alone.

Lance was always alone.


	5. Gérard

**Gérard-18** / Richard-12 / Dimitri-11 / Hans-10

* * *

Hans fell to the ground struggling to catch his breath, Dimitri only chuckled with disdain, while Richard was patiently waiting for his turn to beat up their youngest brother

"What is happening here?-" Gérard's voice made Richard and Dimitri jump, he walked inside the room and sneered at Dimitri then he glared at Richard, and his gaze finally landed on Hans "-How quaint, my three little brothers are playing-" he turned to Richard "-Are you two fighting against Hans? that's... pathetic" his voice dripping with mockery

Richard and Dimitri exchanged frightened looks "W-we are not fighting together! we are taking turns"

Gérard snorted and kneeled before Hans who was trying to get on his feet "Have you managed to fight back, Hans?" the other two princes laughed

"He hasn't even landed a blow, he only know how to cry" Richard mocked and Dimitri started laughing, Gérard turned to them

"I did not ask you, you boors" the two boys fell silent

Hans had managed to get on his feet and stared silently at Gérard who stood before him "Tell me Hans, have you managed to fight back?"

The youngest of the princes hesitated before he shook his head slowly, Gérad sighed "A pity. I thought you would improve by the time you turned ten-" Gérard looked at Hans from head to toes "-I should've known you would prove to be… a disappointment-" the prince turned to his other two siblings "-You shouldn't waste your time with Hans. He is useless, if you truly want to have some worth you should fight one another-" he instructed, Dimitri and Richard exchanged glares "- Or you could fight William"

"They are too scared to fight with William" Hans scowled, Gérard turned to him

"Hans, Did I tell you to speak?" the youngest was startled by his brother's calm but threatening tone

"N-no"

"Then don't speak, you are an embarrassment to me-" Richard and Dimitri snickered "-Why are you two laughing? Do you actually believe I am not ashamed of both of you as well?-" Gérard stood at the doorway, he glared at them one final time "-Next time I see any of you three, I expect to be impressed or I'll personally beat you up" he scoffed before he left without another word.


	6. Damian

Alexei-35 / **Damian-27**

* * *

The Snow was falling slowly, the two princes stood amongst the royal gardens of the palace, an arrow cut through the air across the practice range and landed accurately in the center of the red circle

"Nice shot…" Damian smiled at his brother's compliment

"Should I tone it down for you?"

Alexei chuckled "Don't get cocky Damian, I've been doing this my whole life" the eldest prince's arrow flew across the garden, landing in the center of another target

"That was clearly a lucky shot" the eldest snorted

"Believe what you must to make feel yourself better"

The princes continued practicing for several minutes

"…Why did you abandoned your right to the throne?" the question surprised Alexei

He looked at his brother blankly before answering "It is hard to explain, but I guess you could say that I was simply 'not interested'"

Damian chuckled "It's a pity, You would've been a far better king than Gérard it's going to be"

Alexei had his gaze lost on the horizon "One day you will understand it…"

"Understand what? it's clear that you should've been the king instead of Gérard"

"Look, I love Westertyde, Damian, That's my home… I would step to the throne if I really had to, that's precisely the reason why I'm not the king. The truth is I've never agreed with the way father raised us; always competing against each other, always loathing each other… it is sick, he even expected _me_ to hate all of you, but you are my brothers and I could never bring myself to hate you… that's why I decided to abdicate, it was my last way of standing against father, because I am sure that any of you would do the best for Westertyde if you sat on the throne, I trust each one of you enough to support any decision you make-" Damian felt slightly uncomfortable, It had been a long time since he was close to Alexei, and felt slightly surprised by his declaration "-I will spread the influence and power of Westertyde's throne the best way I can, because the throne belongs to all thirteen of us"

Damian snorted "Perhaps you are right…. however, I still can't understand how you came to think like that… since most of our brothers are nothing but idiots" Alexei's features saddened with his words

"Would you like to be king of Westertyde?" asked the eldest

Damian took a moment before he shook his head "No… I'm not cut to be King… I would've liked if you were the king, or Victor... but any of the guys that follow me would be better at the job, regardless of how useless they are... They are my brothers, they'll manage to get it right"

Alexei laughed "That's almost the same thing Gustav always used to say"

Damian chuckled.


	7. Magnus

Alexei-26 / Victor-23 / Lance-21 / Gérard-20 / **Magnus-17** / William-15 / Dimitri-12

* * *

"There is no way he could possibly defeat Lord Griggor" Dimitri snickered, surprisingly, Gérard nodded-

"I don't understand it Victor, what kind of challenge is this? there is no way that Magnus could win"

William glared at Gérard "Have you ever seen Magnus fight? Of course he will win" he cried

"Don't be stupid William, there is no way he will win" scoffed Lance at his younger brother's naive comment

Alexei remained in silence, he had complete trust in Magnus; his younger brother would emerge victorious from this encounter, there was no doubt about it.

Victor calmly turned to look at his other brothers "I've arranged this challenge so Magnus could prove his determination to father, If his determination proves to be strong enough… then I'm sure he will win"

Lance and Gérard snorted at his answer, but before anyone could say another word the duel had started-

.

Magnus stood before Lord Griggor, the huge man's hand tightened around his hammer, the prince couldn't be more nervous;

After his father had forbidden him from joining the navy like Gérard, Magnus had almost given up on his dream, it was only until Victor spoke with their father that the king was convinced of allowing Magnus a chance to each his goal, but he would have to fight for his dream in a duel.

It wasn't a surprise that their father would choose the best fighter of Westertyde to make sure that his son could never reach his dreams, however, Magnus wasn't intimidated by the experience of his opponent, after all Victor had given him one chance to prove his worth to their father, and more importantly, Magnus knew he couldn't waste this chance, given to him by one of the few brothers he actually liked.

The prince tightened the grip on his sword and rushed against Lord Griggor and in less than a minute the prince had emerged victorious from the combat.

.

Lance, Gérard and Dimitri looked stunned, unable to believe that their brother had actually won against Westertyde's most seasoned soldier, William on the other hand looked with proud eyes at his brother, thrilled that he had managed to beat the odds and reach for his heart true desires.

A smile crossed Alexei's face, he turned to Victor "I'll go talk to father with him"

Victor nodded "But remember to let him decide for himself Alexei, if he changes his mind at the last minute and chooses to do something else we have to stand by him" the eldest nodded and left to meet up with Magnus.

.

It was a surprise to Magnus' twelve brothers when he decided to join the army instead of the navy, most of them commented that he had chosen the army because he was afraid of competing against Gérard, but _some_ of them knew that Magnus had chosen to follow his own path instead of the one his brother had chosen, and they couldn't be prouder of him.


	8. Emmerich

**Emmerich-16** / Hans-12

* * *

The Horse was useless.

Emmerich gave it another glare, he regretted having so many expectations on the newborn animal, but as he looked at it's feeble body the prince concluded that the safest thing to do was to sell the horse.

It was unfortunate however, that Emmerich was too proud to sell a horse from the royal stables to a commoner "The other option would be to put him down…" the prince mumbled under his breath as he looked at the horse, he wouldn't like to do that either, so he thought himself lucky when he saw his youngest brother sneaking into the stable.

"What are you doing here Hans? Hiding from Richard?"

The youngest prince froze when he saw his older brother "N-no…" Emmerich snorted

"You are not even good at lying Hans"

Hans looked at the floor, he knew that he had to bite his tongue when he spoke to Emmerich unless he was looking for a beating

Emmerich sighed "You are almost as pathetic as this horse over here"

Hans gave a curious look at the horse his brother was talking about, it was a white newborn horse, It certainly looked normal to Hans "W-what happened to that horse?" he dared to ask, the older brother turned to the horse

"Nothing, he was born defective… he will never be as strong or fast as any other horse of his family-" Hans immediately understood what his brother meant when he compared him to the horse, both brothers remained in silence for a moment "-I'm going to put him down" Hans looked at his brother, shocked by his words

"Y-you are going to kill him?! B-but he has done nothing wrong"

Emmercih chuckled "I know, but I can't take care of such an animal… it would be a waste of time"

"T-then why don't you sell it?" suggested the youngest prince, Emmerich turned to him-

"And allow some common peasant to use him for breeding? Never. His genes are those of a royal horse, not a common farm-horse"

Hans tried to protest but he couldn't come up with a solution to convince his brother, concluding only with a sad sigh.

Emmerich pondered for a moment before he smiled at the horse "If you want to save him… why don't you raise him yourself? I'll allow you to keep it here, but you will feed him and you will wash him and you will take care of him if he is sick"

Hans was speechless, it was the first time his brother ever gave him anything, a sheepish smile crossed his face "A-are you sure?" Emmerich nodded and patted his younger brother's back

"A fitting horse for you" he scoffed as he left the stable, leaving Hans alone with his new horse.

Unknown to his youngest brother, Emmerich left with a smile on his face; because as useless as Hans was, he was still a far better option than any other person.


	9. Anders

**Anders-17 **/ Richard-15 / Hans-13

* * *

Anders grabbed a large blue book from the shelf and turned to his younger brother

"This is the one Richard, your question should be answered on the first few chapters"

Richard grabbed the book, his face didn't show any emotion as he muttered a plain "_Thanks_" he then turned for the door

"If you ever need any help looking for a reference I'm always happy to help"

Richard stopped, glancing at his older brother "There is no need, It's not my intention to ask help from you again" he answered coldly, Anders sighed at his brother attitude

"Okay, I was just reminding you… I'm always here to help"

Richard chuckled however his features remained expressionless, but before he could say anything he was interrupted by a third voice coming from the hallway

"Hey Anders, I've been reading to the book about deceases that you gave me but-" Hans voice died when he entered the room and noticed Richard inside the library, Anders greeted Hans but Richard barely spared him a look

Richard sighed "Whatever, I don't need your help" he glared at his two brothers and left the room, aggressively brushing past Hans.

The two remaining Westergaards shared a look and then looked at the door "What's his problem?" Anders asked to himself

Hans wore a sad face as he stared back at where his brother had left "Richard says that asking help is something that only people like me should do"

"People like you?"

"Useless" muttered Hans, his gaze resting on the book he held in his hands

Anders frowned "I'm sure he doesn't mean it"

Hans faked a perfectly rehearsed smile and turned to Anders "No, I'm pretty sure he does mean it… but I don't mind-" Anders saddened "-Anyway, I came here because I've been reading the book you gave me, but Emmerich said that this was not the one I needed"

The older brother chuckled "Oh yeah, Emmerich told me the same this morning, he said that I gave you the wrong book, and he made me look for the right one…. here" he explained while looking for the book

"E-Emmerich told you?" Anders handed the book to Hans and took the wrong book, placing it back on the shelf

"Of course, do you really think that he doesn't care about what you are doing with that horse?" Hans didn't answer, it was obvious that he had a hard time believing that Emmerich would actually care about anything regarding Hans or his horse, Sitron.

After a moment of silence, Hans looked back at Anders "T-thanks for the book, I'll be going now"

"Don't mention it, I'm always here to help" Hans thanked again and Anders nodded with a smile and watched as his youngest brother walked to the door

"Oh, and Hans…-" the youngest brother turned his attention to him "-You are not useless" he scolded.


	10. William

Gustav-19 / Damian-16 / **William-14** / Emmerich-14

* * *

William hated most of his brothers.

The young prince crashed against some boxes, his eyes never leaving Damian's smirk "Didn't you say that you were going to kick my ass? I'm waiting, _Bastard"_

William knew that he could never win a fight against Damian, but he was too proud to bow his head before his brother "Fuck you Damian, I could kick your ass if you were alone-" the bastard-prince turned to Emmerich "-and you... You are a coward Emmerich, you only dare to fight me if Damian is around you-" William was interrupted by Emmerich's fist

The prince slammed against the floor

"Fat words William, Is that the only thing you can do?... talk?-" William struggled to get back on his feet, his eyes fiercely locked on Emmerich "-You could never be strong enough William, after all, you are nothing but the son of a servant"

He managed to land a punch against Emmerich's face, but before he could punch him again he was knocked down by a kick from Damian.

William huffed loudly, gritting his teeth tightly, holding off tears of impotence, he looked at his two brothers, their smirks wouldn't leave their faces. He knew he was going to get beaten up.

"William, I've been searching for you!-" the three princes recognised the voice immediately, it was Gustav. The older prince walked up to them "-You guys are fighting?"

"Yeah, a little friendly spar, William was trying to keep up" lied Damian

Gustav sighed "Save your energy to fight during training, I won't see you fighting again in the castle ever again, am I understood?" his voice was soft but commanding. Damian and Emmerich gave a disdainful glare at William

The youngest was the first to flee his older brother, but Damian waited until Gustav was close enough to mutter a grieving "You're saved this time, _bastard_" he then started to walk to the door

Gustav was now standing at William's side "Damian, wait" called the eldest

Damian frost in his place "What is it?"

Gustav took a moment to speak a again, he looked at William who had finally returned to his feet, and then he looked back at Damian "If I ever hear you calling William that way again, I won't let it slip" Damian said nothing, he only stared back at his eldest brother's eye and disappeared in the corner.

Gustav turned to William, the young prince looked away "I don't need your help"

The eldest didn't reply

"Don't give me that look, I was perfectly fine without your help"

"You didn't seem to be, from my perspective" muttered the second heir to the crown

"Well. I still didn't need your help" insisted the youngest, Gustav sighed-

"Okay then, but try not to get into more fights"

William knew that Gustav's heart was in the right place, Gustav always had good intentions, but William never felt comfortable accepting his brother's help, he never felt good when his eldest brothers treated him like if he was their brother. He was not. He was a bastard.

Most of is brothers knew that.

William hated most of his brothers.


	11. Richard

William-28 / **Richard-26 **/ Hans-24

* * *

"I used to hate you, mainly because mother died giving birth to you… but now that I think about it, that was really unfair from me since you actually couldn't do anything about that" Explained Richard, Hans smiled at him; it was nice to talk like this since he had never sorted thing out with Richard, so when William forced him to join them by the fireplace for some drinks, Hans took his opportunity

"I remember I used to hate Hans for the exact same reason, your mother was the only adult that actually accepted me as the son of the king, regardless of me being a bastard" added William with a laugh, Richard chuckled

"I guess we where both in the wrong, since you were the last one to be born and mother gave her life to bring you to this world, it was pretty obvious… but I guess I just took too much time to notice that you and Dimitri were actually the last thing I had to remember her"

"We all took too much time to realise what it meant to be brothers" muttered the youngest

The three brothers remained in silence for a moment

Richard face lit up "If… If anyone had told me five years ago that Gérard, of all people, would be the one to bring us all together I would've laughed" the other two nodded in agreement

"Gérard was a surprise, I would've never guessed that he would end up being a great king after all… I still remember the time when he literally stopped acknowledging my existence" commented Richard

The other two brothers looked at him "I remember that too!-" said Hans with a smile "-It was Lance, Damian and Gérard, I hated it" William nodded chuckling

"I know, I know, those were some weird years, with the whole 'Lance leaving home' drama"

"Wow you're right! I never thought about it like that, I only thought that they were just being jerks" frowned Hans

"They _were_ being jerks, that Lance was leaving doesn't justify their treatment" laughed Richard.

After a couple of minutes the laughs died out, the three brothers had their gaze lost on the fireplace

"For what is worth…-" began Richard, thinking about the right words to use "-I'm glad that I was brother of all twelve of you, even if there was a time when I hated all of you… I now regret that we lost so much time fighting"

Hans smiled at Richard and patted his shoulder, offering to refill his glass with wine "Well, let's leave that on the past… we're not fighting now. And Westertyde has never seen better days"


	12. Dimitri

Damian- 29/ **Dimitri-** **23**/

* * *

The sunset was beaming with a beautiful orange, bathing Westertyde's rocky cliffs, The two princes were sitting in silence, their minds were lost in_ far-off _memories.

"What's…-" began Dimitri, hesitating for a moment to talk with his brother "-What's your happiest memory of this place?" he finally asked, Damian took his time to answer

"There weren't many happy memories on this castle, after all, while we were growing up we used to hate each other-" he answered truthfully "-However, there was this one time when I was little, before you were born. I- I had been studying all morning and I just couldn't keep doing it, but then Gustav knocked my door and told me that father needed me for something. I was excused by my teacher to leave the room, when I came out I saw Gustav holding William in his arms; he had this huge grin all over his face, he just stared at me and said: _Hurry up Damian, come!_. So I followed him and down the hall I met up with Alexei and Victor; turns out the _golden trio_ had organised a huge getaway for us. That day we left the castle and… just played all day long… the twins and William were just babies but they were laughing like crazy…-" He paused for a moment, his gaze lost on the horizon "-Magnus got sick for eating too much pie…"

Dimitri chuckled "That sounds nice" he mumbled

"It was… now I wish I could've done something like that with you guys, but I was too stupid back then, and somewhere along those years I forgot about that memory…"

"But, you didn't…" said Dimitri out of nothing

"What?"

"I mean… There was this one day, back when I was 17. I was just starting to go out of the castle by myself, and since I thought I was tough, I chose to pick up a fight with the leader of a bandit gang… I got myself beaten up and my Westergaard medallion was stolen-" Damian had his full attention on his younger brother "-And it got dark, really dark. Since I still had not returned to the castle, you and Magnus were sent to look for me. I was sitting on the sidewalk, my whole face was beaten up… The two of you stood in front of me for a moment, I didn't want to look at you- I was too embarrassed for that, then you said: _Hurry up Dimitri, Come._ I told you that I wouldn't go back until I got the medallion back… Then the two of you left-" a smile crept to the young prince face "-You returned a couple of minutes later, your clothes were torn and you had bruises all over your face, I looked at you and you threw my medallion to me, then you looked at me and said: _Hurry up Dimitri, Come_. After that day I never dared to hit Hans again, I was really proud of being your brother and… I was proud of being a Westergaard"


	13. Hans

Gérard-29/ **Hans-21**

* * *

Hans stood at the highest tower of Westertyde; the sun was setting on the far horizon, the sea wind caressed his locks and the sound of crashing waves filled the air.

He could hear his brother approaching him, the prince turned to the King "Gérard, Is there something you need?" he asked amiably

Gérard looked into the Horizon "Not really, I just wanted to say goodbye" he replied

The prince looked at his sibling with confusion "What do you mean?"

"I've just received a letter from Arendelle-" he commented and turned to look at his youngest brother "-Queen Elsa asked me if I could make my visit earlier"

"Oh, and you're going to leave today?"

"Well, It looks like a really urgent letter so…" The king flashed a sad smile to his brother

"I see…-" Hans gave his brother a hug "-Well, take care Gérard… Hope you come back soon"

"I'll try-" The king parted away from his brother "-Oh Hans, There's something I have to give you before I leave" Gérard reached for his pocket and gave his brother a sealed letter

Hans was reluctant to accept it "What's this about?"

The eldest chuckled "It's a speech I had prepared for next week's meeting, but since I'm not sure when I'm coming back I want you to do it for me…"

"Why me?" asked Hans, It was true that everything had changed between him and his brothers since he returned from Arendelle, but it wasn't often that Gérard gave tasks to him

The king remained in silence for a moment "Because I said so, King's orders-" the youngest raised an eyebrow inquisitively "-Just trust me"

Hans finally smiled to his brother "Okay, Okay… Do I need to rehearse it or something?"

Gérard was already walking towards the door "Sure, give it a read tonight" as the king turned towards the door something in his neck caught Hans' attention-

"What's that?" he asked pointing at his brother's strange necklace

Gérard looked at the accessory and smiled broadly at his brother "It's just an amulet, I wanted to give it to Adrian but I couldn't find him so I'll hold onto it until I return" he explained causally

"I could give it to him if you like" offered the youngest

Gérard chuckled "Thanks Hans, but it's a personal gift…"

"So it's like that…-" He whistled teasingly, Hans took a deep breath and turned to the sea once again "-I hope you formally introduce him to me some day"

Gérard felt a sting on his chest, his eyes lingered on his youngest brother for a little longer "I'll introduce him someday" he promised weakly before he disappeared into the castle.

Hans' gaze got lost once again on the horizon, the gentle sea breeze echoed above Westertyde's castle, he never expected his relationship would change so drastically between him and his brothers after his stupid plot to get a kingdom failed, yet, at this moment he couldn't be more glad of failing that time.


End file.
